Digital Economy

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On September 19, 2023, the D.C. Tax Revision Commission met for the second time to discuss proposals for changes to the D.C. tax scheme. Among the multiple topics reviewed, the Commission’s members discussed whether to create a business activity tax, which would primarily target entities that do not pay the District’s net income taxes on…

On September 13, 2023, the D.C. Tax Revision Commission met and evaluated over a dozen tax proposals. Most concerning, the Commission discussed the possibility of implementing a digital advertising tax or a data mining tax.

D.C. Tax Revision Commission

The Council of the District of Columbia established the Commission to comprehensively review the District’s tax…

The Michigan Department of Treasury issued a Revenue Administrative Bulletin (RAB) describing the taxation of computer software and digital products to reflect updated case law and legislation enacted in 2004, which, among other things, defined “tangible personal property” to include “prewritten computer software.” The RAB provides that the “key feature” in determining whether prewritten software…

On March 23, 2023, the Washington Department of Revenue issued an emergency rule-making order. The purpose of the emergency rule was to make the public aware that certain of the Department’s administrative rules concerning remote sellers’ sales and use tax nexus and minimum nexus thresholds for the state’s business and occupation tax may be outdated.

On Thursday, June 1, Eversheds Sutherland Partner Jeff Friedman will present at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law’s First Annual State and Local Tax (SALT) Forum, which will bring together SALT thought leaders from around the country to discuss relevant policy, practice, procedural and technical issues. Hosted by the Villanova University Graduate…

The North Carolina Department of Revenue issued a letter ruling that concluded an online platform owner and administrator was not a marketplace facilitator because it neither collected nor otherwise processed payment for any items sold on the website. The taxpayer requesting the ruling was an affiliate of original equipment manufacturers “OEMs), and operated a platform…

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) released a general information letter outlining the applicability of Illinois Retailers’ Occupation Tax (ROT) on computer software licenses and maintenance agreements.

The letter states that sales of “canned” computer software are taxable retail sales in Illinois and are considered to be tangible personal property regardless of the form in…

On December 22, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a taxpayer’s use of computer cookies did not constitute substantial nexus with the state for periods prior to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. The taxpayer sold auto parts entirely online and utilized cookies to track customers…

A recent report issued by the New Jersey Division of Taxation includes a suggestion that state lawmakers consider a cloud computing tax. The report titled, “Studying the Impact of the Digital Economy” recommends adopting a sales and use tax model that differentiates between physical good and services and digital goods and services. The report notes…

New York and Massachusetts are the latest states to introduce tax legislation targeting digital advertising and data collection. Like the similar bills introduced earlier in Connecticut, New York, and Indiana, proposals similar to these latest New York and Massachusetts bills have been rejected by the respective legislatures in prior sessions.

New York revisits …